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Sex & marriage:

• Gays flout God's laws, says head | Headmaster faced calls for his suspension after speech at morning assembly. (The Daily Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Also: God remarks head under fire (BBC)
  
  
• Church to rule on cleric who had sex change | Methodist pastor in Md. took leave of absence for surgical procedure. (The Baltimore Sun)
  
  
• States already experimenting with marriage promotion | But uncertainty remains about what is working and what isn't. (Religion News Service)

Politics and law:

• A natural split with Bush, and many quit | Longtime, key officials who favor conservation—including evangelical James Furnis—say they are frustrated by new rules. (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Bush should keep faith to himself | Bush's comments may lead to genocide (Robert Reno, Newsday)
  
  
• Internet filtering overruled | Judges say libraries needn't block porn (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Also: Judges nix library Internet filters (Associated Press)
  
  
• Also: U.S. net porn law overturned (BBC)
  
  
• Florida high court hears debate over religious cemetery markers | ACLU says crosses and Stars of David erected in a city cemetery are protected under state law, but city wants to limit grave decorations to flat markers. (The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville)
  
  
• Also: Gov. Bush enters battle over religious statues at Boca cemetery | Supports ACLU's defense of religious markers. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  
  
• Faith-based welfare reform | If the government didn't face a tax cut-induced hole in its finances over the next decade, Congress could give the president his faith-based initiative and provide the money to finish the job of welfare reform. (E. J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post)

Crime:

• Cali archbishop's 'killer' is shot dead | Carlos Augusto Ramirez died after being assaulted by inmates at a high security prison. (BBC)
  
  
• Ex-Klansman passed up plea offer | Bobby Frank Cherry now serving life sentence. (Associated Press)
  
  
• Canadians deplore 'artistic merit' porn defense | Although John Robin Sharpe was found not guilty, most people oppose the use of such a defense in court, a new poll reveals. (Vancouver Sun)
  
  
• Grace Ministries pyramid scheme case complicated by zoning ruling | Sentencing is predicated on settlement of the civil case that included the sale of the Grace campus. (The Daily News, McKeesport, Penn.)
  
  
• 'Fear of God' is no protection for churches | Damage costing a record £7.3 million was caused last year, more than double the previous year. (The Daily Telegraph, London)

Church abuse scandal:

• Panel recommends dismissing priests in new abuse cases | A Roman Catholic panel proposed removing priests who abuse minors in the future, but would allow leeway in old cases involving a single incident. (The New York Times)
  
  
• Prelates' proposal draws praise and skepticism | Sveral scorned the plan's failure to include sanctions for bishops who have transferred priests from parish to parish, and their criticisms suggested that the plan would not calm protests by victims' groups, which have been growing (The New York Times)
  
  
• Dismissal of abusive priests is proposed | A committee of Roman Catholic bishops recommended Tuesday the defrocking of any priest who sexually abuses children in the future but left open the possibility that some past offenders could remain in the priesthood. (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Bishops lenient for past sex abuse | Bishops recommend defrocking priests who sexually abuse any child in the future, but mercy toward priests who already have committed a single offense (The Washington Times)
  
  

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June (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46